N.J. Marathon returns to Jersey Shore on Sunday, but not to 'normal'

In the weeks leading up to last year’s New Jersey Marathon, race organizers had to scramble to adjust for a pair of tragic events that changed the face and dynamic of the state’s largest marathon.

After Hurricane Sandy pummeled the eight waterfront towns the race runs through, the course had to undergo a substantial rerouting that required coordination of all of the still-recovering towns, their law enforcement agencies, the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office and county’s Office of Emergency Management.

And then a week before the race, race organizers - many of whom were still displaced from their own homes due to the hurricane – were dealt another obstacle to overcome as a result of the deadly bombings at the Boston Marathon, which prompted authorities to take additional safety precautions.

“It was a chaotic few months leading up to the race,” said Joe Gigas, executive race director of the New Jersey Marathon, whose Long Branch home was badly damaged in Sandy. “But I think we still ended up having a very successful marathon. The weather was good and the field was good. The only difference was the additional security measures and that we had to reroute the full marathon.”

This year, Gigas said the Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon would be closer to what it was before Hurricane Sandy, but would not yet be “back to normal.”

Three weeks after the Boston Marathon bombings, approximately 11,000 runners took part in the New Jersey Marathon and half marathon on May 5, 2013.Rob Spahr/NJ.com

“Recovery from Sandy is taking longer than people might have imaged,” Gigas said. “So while our course will be a little closer to what it was in 2012, it’s not as close as we had hoped it would be.”

Gigas said the most significant impact to the course would again be in the area of Asbury Park and Ocean Grove, where boardwalk repairs prevented wheelchair athletes from being able to take part in last year’s race.

“All of our athletes will be able to take part in the race this year, which was very important to all of us,” he said.

However, security measures at the marathon would still be at post-Boston marathon bombing levels.

“Obviously my emergency management and homeland security teams are always involved in large-scale gatherings. But last year there was a heightened sense of alertness with the tens of thousands of people in the Long Branch area for the marathon following the events surrounding the Boston marathon,” Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said. “But this year, we’re expecting to dedicate about the same amount of resources, with K-9 teams doing sweeps before and during the race, undercover and bicycle officers along the course and 20 additional sheriff’s officers on top of the extra local enforcement presence.”

Golden said the county would also have its mobile command and tactical units on site for the marathon.

Racers and spectators will again be limited on what they can bring into the race areas, Golden said. But authorities have made some adjustments to last year’s procedures to improve organization and movement, which he said should help improve the overall race experience as well as the public safety efforts.

However, local law enforcement agencies in the eight communities the race runs through – Oceanport, Monmouth Beach, Long Branch, Deal, Allenhurst, Loch Arbour, Asbury Park and Ocean Grove – and the surrounded communities are still warning motorists to expect significant traffic delays on race day.

Despite the lingering effects of Hurricane Sandy and the fact that the brutal winter negatively impacted registration for the half marathon, the marathon is sold out and Gigas said more than 10,000 runners – including more than 3,000 in the marathon and 6,000 in the half - are expected to take part in the weekend’s events.

This has race organizers focusing on the positives this year, Gigas said

CONNECT WITH US

“I think that this year’s race, we are not dwelling on all of the bad things that happened in the past,” he said. “Our real focus, with everything the race provides, is on highlighting each individual athlete. This year our message is about letting their ‘stars shine’ and to ‘be brilliant.’”

Gigas said many of the event’s sponsors, vendors and family activities promote the value of running and living healthy lifestyles.

“We don’t think ourselves as a company that puts on a race once a year,” he said. “We organize this all year and work with people all over New Jersey to become healthy.”

This message would be heard by tens of thousands of adults and children on Sunday, Gigas said.

“This is the largest marathon in the state, but there is one statistic that always blows people’s minds,” he said. “If you took every mile every racer runs with us this weekend and put it end to end, it turns out being about 8.3 times around the world. That’s a lot of people, and a lot of miles.”

--For more information on the Novo Nordisk New Jersey Marathon, click here.